US drug cos file five patent claims with 'Aarogyapacha' as ingredient

Posted AtPharmaBiz

Aarogyapacha (trichopus zeylanicus),
hyped as Indian ginseng following the invention of the
herbal compound Jeevani, will be soon commercially exploited
by the US MNCs with impending launch of some blockbuster
cancer and hypertension drugs in the world markets,
it is learnt.

As per documents available with Pharmabiz, at least
five US patent claims, some of them international claims,
are pending with the United States Patent Treaty Organisation
(USPTO) on processes and drug development using herbal
extract combinations with Aarogyapacha as the major
ingredient.

The US based Phyto Myco Research Corporation (PMRC),
a leader in biopharmaceutical drug discovery and development,
claims a method to induce apoptosis (cell death process)
in a living cell through a pharmaceutical composition
comprising a plant extract compound selected from the
group consisting of sclareolide, a sclareolide-like
compound, sclareol,and combinations. The list of herbs
used for the process to treat cancers, has Aarogyapacha
as a major ingredient.

PMRC's another patent claim, filed in January 2003,
is on a method for screening endothelin-receptor antagonist
activity and for treating conditions caused by endothelin.
Endothelin receptor antagonists are a new class of drugs
for the treatment of a number of major diseases, including
pulmonary arterial hypertension. The company's R&D pipeline
has several pure compounds that are ready for pre-clinical
development and nutraceuticals/dietary supplements.
PMRC's Pure Compound Library consists of over 350 drug
candidates and has already yielded several novel lead
candidates, especially cardiovascular, anti-cancer,
and anti-bacterial drug leads. PMRC is also developing
and expanding its nutraceuticals and dietary supplements
programme that has already resulted in several licensing
relationships for the pure compounds.

Global Cancer Strategies Ltd., another US firm, filed
a claim in February 2001 on compositions derived from
traditional Chinese herbal medicines, medicinal plants
(including Aarogyapacha) and extracts for the prevention
and treatment of cancers, especially cancer of the lung,
esophagus, stomach, oral cavity and prostate as well
as for treating Helicobacter pylori infection. The same
inventors again registered another patent claim in February
2004 on a process for the manufacture of a herbal composition
to be used in a method of treating or preventing cancer,
H. pylori infections, chronic inflammatory conditions,
cardiovascular diseases or cerebral vascular diseases.
Another patent claim filed with USPTO, a process for
preparing dry extracts, also mentions about Aarogyapacha.

The immuno-restorative and energy enhancing properties
of Aarogyapacha was accidentally known to the world
only in 1991 when a team of scientists led by Dr. P.
Pushpangadan, the present director of National Botanical
Garden & Research Institute (NBRI) and world renowned
ethnopharmacologist, went on a routine botanical expedition
to Agasthyar hills. In 1995, the scientists at Tropical
Botanical Garden & Research Institute (TBGRI) developed
and patented an immuno-restorative and energy enhancing
herbal compound Jeevani. The drug hit international
headlines following the TBGRI initiative to share the
license fee and royalty with the tribal community on
1:1 basis and thus India became the first in the world
to recognise the Intellectual Property Rights of a tribal
community and thereby implemented the Article 8(j) of
the UN-Convention of Biological Diversity. This model
of benefit sharing is now widely appreciated world over
and referred as TBGRI model or Pushpangadan Model of
Benefit Sharing. On the invitation of UNEP, Dr. Pushpangadan
made a presentation of this model at UNEP Centre at
Geneva. He was awarded the prestigious UN- Equator Initiative
Award in 2002 for the same during the UN Summit held
at Johannesburg in Aug-Sept 2002.

Numerous articles on Jeevani and the wonder herb Aarogyapacha
had appeared in leading international magazines, especially
in the 1985-2002 period. Its potential was acknowledged
in prestigious journals like Nature and Time. It may
be noted there were allegations during the period that
Aarogyapacha was being smuggled in large quantities
to overseas countries from Agasthyar hills.

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